Disney Is Reportedly Close to a Deal to Buy Fox’s Movie and TV Studio

A major shakeup in the world of pop culture and entertainment could happen within days, according to a new report from CNBC that states that Disney is nearing a deal to purchase 21st Century Fox’s movie and television companies:

CNBC has been reporting that Disney has held talks with the Rupert Murdoch-controlled media company to acquire its studio and television production assets, leaving Fox with its news and sports assets. Fox is also talking with CNBC parent company Comcast, but the talks with Disney have progressed more significantly.

CNBC reports that the value of the assets Disney is close to buying is upwards of $60 billion. That’s a lot of foxes.

What does this mean for you, the person reading ScreenCrush on this fine Tuesday morning? A lot, potentially. Here’s one small avenue to consider: If Disney buys Fox, then Disney also regains the movie rights for all of the Marvel characters held by Fox that they previously didn’t control. That means they could put Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in an Avengers movie (I know, I know, he’s retired, just roll with it). Or they could make a team-up movie between Deadpool and Captain America. Or they could redo the Fantastic Four the right way. How much money would those handful of moves generate alone? Not $60 billion, but a lot.

And that’s just Marvel. Fox also holds the rights to the original Star Wars (the sequels and the rest of the universe belong to Lucasfilm and Disney), and, y’know, decades of other properties and franchises. If the deal goes through, we would be looking at a complete reshaping of the movie and television landscape. Plus, maybe some mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.